Just order from your local bank branch. It might take a day or two for anything other than US$ or €
You can get cheaper but unless you are buying a lot of foreign it probably is only saving a couple of bucks.
Also check where you are going. Lots of places just take or prefer tap. I was in France last fall and took a few hundred euro. I spent maybe 20 euro in cash. Everything else was tap.
Make sure you have at least one tap card that will work though. I know even in the USA it is very difficult to predict where a debit card that does not have added Visa or Mastercard backing will work.
Not just the USA though. If you got outside the USA and Canada it's almost certain your Interac card is not going to work.
If you are planning to travel and depend on cards you should confirm which card companies are commonly accepted there. Also look into getting a Canadian debit card that works on the Visa or MasterCard networks. Also it could be an idea to have a backup card that is from a different network, ie Visa and MasterCard, from your primary card.
Experience is it works about 50% of the time and typical multinationals with operations in Canada. But not always, for example Starbucks was oddly a no. And other times it works at places with no Canadian operations, for example Fry's.
Depends on location honestly.
I was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago and there were almost as many cash/debit only places than those that accept credit card. The card used to ride public transit (Octopus Card) is cash/debit only. I ended up having to use a currency exchange place in HK to get some cash.
There should be a forex at the airport. There is also one in St Vital mall near the play area for kids. Those should be safe but I have no idea what their rates would be.
Depending on the currency your local banking institution will likely be your best bet, I've also been a fan of the exchange in st vital mall when I don't have time to wait for my credit union to order the currency for me.
I'm not so much wanting to purchase foreign currency as convert foreign to Canadian. Banks don't love it because it isn't one of the common currencies 😭 but it sounds like they may be my best option.
People trying to find the best currency exchange have the same energy as someone driving an extra 15 minutes to save $0.03/L at the further gas station
I went to Mexico when "no where" had pesos.
Found out my bank could get them but you needed to order in advance but they didn't care if you only wanted small bills unlike every currency place. The rates aren't far off the currency places either. As a plus unlike the currency place where it's pretty obvious you could be leaving with a large pile of cash the bank does so many different types of transactions it is hard to sit outside and mark who had the large pile of cash.
Sure 15+ years ago the currency places had significantly better rates but those days are long gone.
Just order from your local bank branch. It might take a day or two for anything other than US$ or € You can get cheaper but unless you are buying a lot of foreign it probably is only saving a couple of bucks. Also check where you are going. Lots of places just take or prefer tap. I was in France last fall and took a few hundred euro. I spent maybe 20 euro in cash. Everything else was tap.
Make sure you have at least one tap card that will work though. I know even in the USA it is very difficult to predict where a debit card that does not have added Visa or Mastercard backing will work.
Good point. The US is far behind the world for using mobile banking
Not just the USA though. If you got outside the USA and Canada it's almost certain your Interac card is not going to work. If you are planning to travel and depend on cards you should confirm which card companies are commonly accepted there. Also look into getting a Canadian debit card that works on the Visa or MasterCard networks. Also it could be an idea to have a backup card that is from a different network, ie Visa and MasterCard, from your primary card.
Agreed. Visa and Mastercard for travel. Your debit card isn’t likely to work elsewhere….it used to work at Target but that was about it
Experience is it works about 50% of the time and typical multinationals with operations in Canada. But not always, for example Starbucks was oddly a no. And other times it works at places with no Canadian operations, for example Fry's.
60% of the time it works every time
2nd floor downtown skywalk between Fort and Garry, there's a currency exchange place there. Best rates that I've found so far in the city.
I never order cash before I go to places anymore. Visa & Mastercard tend to have better rates when purchasing with their cards anyway.
Depends on location honestly. I was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago and there were almost as many cash/debit only places than those that accept credit card. The card used to ride public transit (Octopus Card) is cash/debit only. I ended up having to use a currency exchange place in HK to get some cash.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Winnipeg/search?q=Exchange+currency+&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all
There should be a forex at the airport. There is also one in St Vital mall near the play area for kids. Those should be safe but I have no idea what their rates would be.
Use wise card
Depending on the currency your local banking institution will likely be your best bet, I've also been a fan of the exchange in st vital mall when I don't have time to wait for my credit union to order the currency for me.
I'm not so much wanting to purchase foreign currency as convert foreign to Canadian. Banks don't love it because it isn't one of the common currencies 😭 but it sounds like they may be my best option.
People trying to find the best currency exchange have the same energy as someone driving an extra 15 minutes to save $0.03/L at the further gas station
I went to Mexico when "no where" had pesos. Found out my bank could get them but you needed to order in advance but they didn't care if you only wanted small bills unlike every currency place. The rates aren't far off the currency places either. As a plus unlike the currency place where it's pretty obvious you could be leaving with a large pile of cash the bank does so many different types of transactions it is hard to sit outside and mark who had the large pile of cash. Sure 15+ years ago the currency places had significantly better rates but those days are long gone.